Straykiwi

It has a retractable towbar.

I was invited to test drive one, so I did on Saturday. Very different car to the M3 Touring, I think it is squarely aimed at Audi RS6 owners because it has that Audi RS feel about it, drives like a 5 Series until you press a button and the thing goes into full attack mode. By comparison, my M3 Touring never tries to hide what it is, it is always goading you to drive it hard. But hold that boost paddle in the M5 and all hell breaks loose. For a 2.5 ton vehicle it certainly is rapid but as good as BMW M engineers are, eventually you run into that little thing called the Laws of Physics. The steering is surprisingly light and the car changes direction pretty well, but over bumps the car takes slightly longer (not as long as you might think but enough to notice) to settle and that is where you feel the weight. If I was so inclined I feel I could track my M3 Touring, not so much the M5 Touring, it is more of a GT car. Not necessarily a bad thing, but is it truly an M car?

I decided what the heck and bought myself a jacket from one of those shady knock off stalls at the local market.

I have tried but ultimately failed to avoid getting white smudges on the door cards from sunscreen covered hands. What is the best way to remove them without damaging the leather?

At an event someone parked their Model 3 next to my M3. Lets just say all the kids taking photos of the cars were not taking any of the Tesla.

I bet it has a whole heap of Toyota Aqua's in orbit around it! 🤣

I had just gotten out of my Touring when this guy pulls up next to me in his convertible. The conversation went: Him: "I like your car." Me: "I like your car too."

I feared you were going to say you picked up 10 of them for $5 from the Warehouse! 🤣

I recently moved house and after unpacking all the boxes found a present I was given for my 21st birthday by an acquaintance. A crystal model of a 635CSi and it's still in pretty good nick considering my 21st birthday was quite some time ago (hint, last century).

Explains why they didn't see the flashing lights, hear the alarm bells, or see the honking great freight train bearing down on them...

NZ also buys more RS cars as a percentage of total Audi sales than all other markets too so the news didn't surprise me at all. And I don't mind BMW NZ selling their EV range of cars as it means the average C02 emissions of the whole fleet are low enough they may continue to sell as many ICE cars as they want.

And here she is after 500km and needing her first wash (hopefully this weekend). If the guy driving a white E91 Touring who waved at me on SH1 northbound lane just south of the Newmarket bridge in Auckland on ANZAC day around midday is also member here, hi back! 👋

I see the owner spent the extra cash on the carbon ceramic brakes. Did you see if they had the sports buckets as well?

And here she is at the dealers. Collection will be sometime in the not too distant future after registration, pre-delivery checks and PPF application are done. I have a mate who is an amateur photographer, will get him to take some decent shots I'll upload as promised.

Update: Vessel is now ~35nm east of Great Barrier Island on an ESE heading at 14 knots, due to dock in Auckland tomorrow evening.

It looks like a failed design for a 1970's sci fi movie vehicle

And here we are again.

Oh for sure, photos will be provided here, no need to ask. I have a mate who owns a F80 M3, I might meet up with him and his car somewhere in Auckland at some point after the dust settles. Lots of things need to happen before that becomes possible, so we shall just have to wait and see.

Update: My car is on a vessel awaiting passage through the Panama Canal. ETA in NZ is early April.

Do you think this would sell well down under?

I used to run mid range brands like Bridgestone, Dunlop, Goodyear and Falken on my cars over the years, then I was introduced to Michelin Pilots and I won't be going back. But if you are on a budget those tyres give about 90-99% of the performance of more expensive tyres. In the dry sometimes it's hard to tell any difference, I found with Michelin Pilot Super Sport you get noticeably better initial turn in response but that's about it. However it is in the wet where you see the benefit of all the money you spent as the mechanical grip level is simply incredible.

Update: App now says delivery is under way. Let the logistics lottery begin!

Update: received my vehicles VIN number from the dealer this afternoon.

Pretty much identical to what I am buying externally. EDIT: I don't know how I feel knowing I won't have the only Isle of Man green M3 Touring in NZ. I thought everyone went for Dravit/Oxide/Brooklyn/Skyscraper Grey these days? EDIT 2: Since NZ's car registry data is searchable, for the month ending January 2024 there are 21 M3 Tourings registered in NZ. There will be 3 'green' M3 Tourings in NZ once mine arrives. We know at least one of the others is also Isle of Man green, the third one could be an individual colour, who knows? Keep an eye out in and around Auckland as that is where the other two were delivered.

Speed Revenue Safety Cameras about to quadruple in number "to increase safety" Yeah right... Rant over